Off-Broadway Review: WHITE GIRL IN DANGER (Second Stage and Vineyard at the Tony Kiser Theater)

Lauren Marcus and Liz Lark Brown

Eric William Morris

Latoya Edwards

It seems there’s  a  television  soap opera called “White Girl in Danger” that somehow manages to utilize every stereotypical trope about victimized, young,  white women that was ever created by the Hollywood story  machine.  The show’s three main characters  are white high school girls — Megan White, Maegan Whitehall and Meagan Whitehead. They  live in a town called Allwhite that is populated by only White People with the exception of a few minor, Black characters who live in the  Blackground.  The three girls battle low self-esteem, high self-esteem, codependence, independence, eating disorders, abusive boyfriends, too much  money,  too little money, drugs, sex, overbearing mothers,  uncaring  mothers and a killer who begins murdering all the young white girls in town with impunity.

Molly Hager, Lauren Marcus

Innocuous  Black  teenager  Keesha, tired of living in the  Blackground,  decides she wants the all powerful white writer of the series to center her in her own  story, or rather,  center her in one of the white girl  stories.  For Keesha, the white girl stories are better because the powerful head writer can only write Black stories that concern sassy black women, slavery, young black men in trouble and rough times in the ghetto. Keesha’s mom  Nell, the high school cafeteria  lady,  tries to warn her  daughter  against leaving the Blackground but Keesha doesn’t listen  (why should she when white girls don’t listen to  their  mothers). Eventually, Keesha  is  happily  centered in  her  own white girl story. But her joy  is short-lived  because this is a soap opera  and  Keesha’s  dream soon becomes …  a  nightmare!

The Company of WHITE GIRL IN DANGER

Jackson  broaches a wide span of ideas  in this piece but does he  have to say all of it at the same time?  There’s multiple storylines and multiple commentary about the meaning of these stories plus a new song practically every five minutes. And there’s a Battle of the Bands – presumably because it’s an  â€˜80s  suburban high school so why not? Also,  Jackson  not only  deals  with stereotypical white girl media presentation (yet  with no take on the validity of those  reductive  story norms)  he  also characterizes Black women  by  resurrecting  â€˜80s sitcom  portrayals. There must be a reason for reviving  Nell Carter’s  “Nell” from  Gimme a Break  or Marla Gibbs’s  “Florence” from  The Jeffersons  or  Jackee Harry’s “Sandra” from  227.  Most likely  they are  included  to demonstrate  the limited nature of these creations but that is not exactly clear.

James Jackson Jr.

Jackson’s  considerable  talent for wordplay is on full  force  in this  three-hour  outing  but even that  cleverness  starts  to wear thin. And though set in the Eighties, current conversations around  justice,  inclusion  and representation, even beliefs  deeply held  by  the African-American Civil Rights Generation don’t escape his borderline  cynical critique.  Direction by  Lileana Blaine-Cruz  and choreography by  Raja Feather  Kelly  are  very  good considering their main task  may  have been  to find a way to  squeeze  all of these ideas onto one  stage.  Yet even with that  yeoman effort,  the show  plays  tonally ambivalent — never quite sure if it’s a comedy, satire, drama, etc. Even the singers and  the musicians often seem  at odds  with each other instead of working together — with the orchestra sometimes drowning out the  performers.

Lauren Marcus, Molly Hager, Alyse Alan Louis, Latoya Edwards

The  bright spot of the show are the  multi–talented  singer/actor/dancers  that grace the stage and  somehow  successfully  manage the voluminous amount of material they have to contend with. As the three white teen girls,  Molly Hager,  Alyse Alan Louis  and  Lauren Marcus  are equal parts  funny  and compelling as they navigate their  roller-coaster  lives in Allwhite. Understudy  Alexis Cofield mostly shines brightly as leading role Keesha — though there was  occasional  tentativeness in her approach.  Eric William Morris  proves himself quite  good  in  portraying three  types  of generic young white guys  that were staples of ’80s television.  Understudy  Ciara Alyse Harris  is  very funny  as a higher-strung version of  television maid  Florence Johnston  as is  Jennifer Fouche’s  sexpot  Abilene.  A Strange Loop  favorite  James Jackson Jr. joins this cast as kindly school janitor Clarence and is tasked with delivering a pages long monologue that reveals a plot twist to end all plot twists–   and he  does so  brilliantly.

Kayla Davion, Morgan Siobhan Green, Jennifer Fouche

But the real center  of  the show is  Tarra Conner Jones  as Nell, a heightened version of Nell Carter’s sitcom character  (another maid).  Making Ms. Carter’s creation her own,  Ms.  Jones delivers a  comical,  belting,  moving, tour-de-force performance as a woman who seems to embody black pain, black joy, black humor, black wisdom, black survival and black love all at once. If  there is a reason to see this show, it is to witness Ms. Jones’s  multi–faceted,  star-making performance.  Scenic Design by  Adam Rigg  and Costume Design by  Montana Levi Blanco  give the show an authentic ’80s look and big hair abounds, thanks to Hair and Wig Design by  Cookie Jordan.

Tarra Conner Jones, Latoya Edwards

There is a good, possibly important show buried within this current incarnation of  White Girl In Danger. Mr. Jackson is correct in his continual excavation of the power of storytelling — particularly whose gaze dictates the  story and whose lives are affected by it. And  where this show eventually leads  is actually quite an amazing  and original  destination. Here’s hoping Mr. Jackson and his creative team find a more direct route there in the future.

Latoya Edwards

Vincent Jamal Hooper and Latoya Edwards